@UN Task Force #NCDs

Happening now at #WHA79 - From global commitments to integrated lung 🫁 health action. This official side event brings together Member States, partners and lived experience voices to advance early diagnosis of lung cancer and equitable access to inhaled medicines for #COPD and asthma. Powerful opening messages from the co-chairs @DrDzul Minister of Health of Malaysia 🇲🇾 and @Teddybird Secretary of Health of the Philippines 🇵🇭, underscoring that the 2025 @WHO resolution on integrated lung health - and the UN Political Declaration on NCDs - must now translate into concrete country-level implementation. Strong interventions from @JLCastroGarcia and partners highlight: 🫁 The urgency of integrating lung cancer, COPD and #asthma within UHC and PHC 🫁 The need to reduce fragmentation across disease programmes 🫁 The importance of aligning national benefit packages with global guidance 🫁 Ensuring affordable access to essential inhaled medicines 🫁 Leveraging #PHC platforms to deliver people-centred respiratory services With 580 million people affected globally, integrated #lung health is not a vertical issue - it is a #health systems priority tied to equity, financing, and sustainable reform. Country experiences from Kenya, Malaysia and the Philippines are demonstrating that implementation is possible, when political commitment is matched with coordinated action.

💪🏾 Strengthening respiratory care in Nepal 🇳🇵 and Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 @WHO is supporting the integration of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) services into 🏠 primary health care (PHC) systems in Nepal and Sri Lanka. This aims to strengthen frontline respiratory care and improve access to timely diagnosis and treatment. Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) affect more than 104 million people in the South-East Asia Region 🌍. Limited access to diagnostics and essential inhaled medicines remains a major concern. ✌ This initiative is helping close gaps in care by supporting early detection, treatment, follow-up care and patient education. ✌ It is improving access to respiratory care by strengthening frontline services, supporting health workers, and bringing care closer to communities through primary health care. 🔗: who.int/news/item/04-0… #WHO #Asthma #COPD #PrimaryHealthCare #HealthForAll

Mai, c'est le Mois de la santé mentale. 1 jeune sur 7 souffre de troubles mentaux, mais les symptômes passent souvent inaperçus. Parents, aidants et enseignants ont un rôle clé à jouer pour repérer les signes qu'un enfant ou un jeune a besoin de soutien. via @WHO

"Health sovereignty worthy of its name must protect those who need protection most." At the #LivesInTheBalance series, Deputy Executive Director @TedChaiban called to keep women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health at the center of financing decisions, reforms, and partnerships. Watch the session: pmnch.who.int/news-and-event… #WHA79 #ForEveryChild

Humanity is exhausting natural resources at an increasing rate. We must change our consumption habits and shift towards sustainable practices. Discover ways to #ActNow for a healthier planet. un.org/en/actnow/ten-…

"The UN General Assembly adopted the most ambitious #NCDs political declaration yet, with concrete targets on tobacco, hypertension and #mentalhealth. WHO also issued new guidelines on the use of #GLP1s for the treatment of #obesity in adults; And WHO initiatives on cervical, breast and childhood cancer are now benefiting over one million people in more than 100 countries." @WHO Director-General's @DrTedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus address to Member States at the 79th World Health Assembly #WHA79 – 19 May 2026

🌍 At #WUF13 global leaders, policymakers, urban practitioners, and stakeholders came together to put housing at the centre of sustainable development — exploring how homes connect to inclusion, resilience, jobs, economic opportunity and health. #HousingTheWorld #RoadToBaku

🚭 Engaging with #WHA79 Delegates 🌍 The tobacco epidemic remains one of the world’s most pressing public health challenges. The WHO FCTC provides Parties with comprehensive, evidence-based tools to regulate, control, and reduce tobacco use — protecting present and future generations from the harms of tobacco and nicotine products. 📜⚕️ Meanwhile, the tobacco industry continues to reinvent itself to keep children, youth, and adults addicted to its deadly products. 🎯🚬❌ Strong implementation of the WHO FCTC is essential to save lives, protect health, and build a tobacco-free future. 🌱💙 #FCTCSavesLives

Advances in diagnosis & treatment improve survival, but haven't kept pace with rising incidence or addressed persistent access inequities. Our #IARC60 expert panel makes the case that investing in cancer research is essential for prevention, & equitable & effective cancer control

1.4 billion people live with high blood pressure. Healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent it & reduce the risk of related deaths: 🥦Eat a balanced diet 🚭Avoid tobacco 🍺Limit alcohol 🏃Exercise More from @WHO on Sunday’s World Hypertension Day: #tab=tab_1" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">who.int/health-topics/…

The 79th session of the World Health Assembly #WHA79 opens tomorrow, 18 May in Geneva. WHA is the main decision-making body of @WHO and is comprised of 194 Member States. Next week delegates from all Member States come together to agree on the Organization’s priorities and policies. 📺 webcast here who.int/about/governan…

As #WUF13 prepares to open tomorrow in Baku, Azerbaijan, the UN-Habitat Executive Director @AnacludiaRossb1 welcomes the world to the world’s premier forum on sustainable urbanization. Welcome to the World Urban Forum. Welcome to Baku. #HousingTheWorld #RoadToBaku

Cancer inequalities are observed within & between countries, & across all income settings. Addressing cancer inequalities is a global priority. Find out more during the dedicated #IARC60 session with DG Santé @EU_Health. 📆Day 3, 14:00 - 15:30. More info: iarc2026conf.iarc.who.int/en/programme/f…

📆In Geneva this Sunday? 🏃‍♀️🏃‍♂️ Join us for the WHO/@WHO’s “Walk The Talk: Health for All” : 🗓️ 17 May 🕙 8:00 📍 Place des Nations @VilleDeGeneve 👟buff.ly/CdS7kZR #Sport4Health

Depression may be contagious - here’s the science behind it. We often think of #depression as a purely internal struggle. But a compelling body of research suggests otherwise: depression can spread through social networks, much like an infectious disease. sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

1.4 billion more people are cooking clean! Access to clean cooking fuels and technologies soared between 2015 and 2024, helping families worldwide breathe easier and leave polluting methods behind. Read our new World Health Statistics Report 2026🔗 bit.ly/4fiNpVV

The #HeroesofTomorrow are fearless and persistent. They’re in every country, often working against the odds for a better future. Deadline is approaching! Apply or nominate by 17 May for the @UN #SDGAwards. Learn more via @SDGAction: sdgactionawards.org

⏳ 3 days to go until #WUF13. The conversation on the future of cities is about to begin — and your voice matters. 👉 Don’t miss it — be part of the change. 🔗 Register now: lnkd.in/eBAH9Hc6 #HousingTheWorld #RoadToBaku

🌱 Plants are life. We depend on them for 80% of the food we eat and 98% of the oxygen we breathe. But habitat loss puts both plant life and human well-being at risk. On Tuesday's #PlantHealthDay, @FAO explains how you can help protect them: fao.org/plant-health-d…

🗓️ 19 May 2026 | #WHA79 | Geneva At the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the UN Inter-Agency Task Force on #NCDs and #MentalHealth, we will officially launch 2026–2027 UNIATF Awards 🏆scheme, with a special focus on air pollution and chronic 🫁 respiratory diseases. Since 2018, the Awards have recognized outstanding multisectoral action across governments and non-state actors - and in 2026, the spotlight turns to clean air, #CRDs, sustainable cities, and cross-government leadership within and beyond health sector. Join us at the Palais des Nations (16:00–17:30 CET) as we move from commitment to implementation and showcase how real action on #airpollution and CRDs can advance the 2026 UNGA Political Declaration on NCDs. Register indico.un.org/event/1023629/